Posts Tagged ‘Mouassine’

The famous Koutoubia Mosque dominates the skyline of Marrakech. Koutoubia Mosque is 77 meters high, including it’s majestic minaret, and was built in 1158 by the Almohad Caliph Abd al-Mu’min (1094–1163) then completed by his grandson the Almoravid Sultan Yacoub El Mansour in 1195. Caliph Abd al-Mu’min also built the Giralda Tower in Seville and the Hassan Tower in Rabat which was never completed. The towering square Koutoubia minaret in Marrakech is all the more striking because the limestone walls remain undecorated by modern restorers.

At the time the area around Koutoubia was the centre of the old city and the Almohads had built a palace there which was later destroyed but you can still see the foundations. The courtyard of the mosque in Marrakech originally housed booksellers and scribes who could write documents, hence the Arabic name kutubiyyin gave its name to the Koutoubia or book seller’s mosque.

The call to prayer rings out from the Koutoubia minaret and is echoed by all the mosques in Marrakech which is a wonderful sound particularly in the early morning. The Malakite rite in Morocco permits the call to prayer to be sung and depending on the muezzin who conducts the call to prayer, it can be very beautiful. Moroccans, as with all muslims, pray five times a day and their religion rules their daily lives. Whilst a non believer cannot enter the mosque, the exterior view of Koutoubia both from a distance (it can be seen from 29 kms) and close up is a stunning sight and is Marrakech’s icon. It is floodlit at night.

The minaret of the Kasbah mosque known as the El Mansouria, is in the old fortified city close to the Bab Agnaou adjacent to the Saadian tombs. The minaret of the Kasbah Mosque resembles Koutoubia. Built in 1190 by Sultan Yacoub El Mansour it was restored in the 16th Century. The minaret is decorated with green and white zellij tiles.

The Mouassine mosque on Rue Mouassine is just up from the Dar El Bacha Palace. It is a large and imposing building with a hammam , a medersa and a large fountain in a square to the left of the mosque. It was built by the Saadian Sultan Abdullah el Ghalib in 1560.The Bab Doukala mosque was also built by the Saadians in 1557 who built also built several other mosques including the Barrima mosque, the Zaouia of Sidi Bel Abbes, the Zaouia of Sidi Ben Slimane al-Jazouli, Zaouia of Sidi Youssef Ben Ali, and the Sidi Moulay el Ksour mosque.

Ben Youssef Medersa, Marrakech

The Ben Youssef Mosque is on the main square close to the Marrakech Museum and the Medersa Ben Youssef was originally built by the Almoravid ruler Youssef Bin Tachfine in 1070 and his son Ali Ben Youssef built the largest mosque in the city on the site to be the center of the new city after the conquest by the Almohads . It was built between 1121 and 1132 and was said to have cost a fortune to build with a huge fountain in the central courtyard. It was refurbished by the Saadian Sultan Abdallah al Ghalib and the Saadians also built the magnificent Medersa Ben Youssef between 1563-1564, which tourists can enter . You can also see the Koubba Ba’adiyn with its superb carvings in its dome which was part of the orginal mosque. It is in the park facing the mosque and you can buy a ticket for it in the Medersa Ben Youssef.

The Ben Youssef Mosque underwent a further architectural transformation in the 19th Century by the Alaouite Sultan Suleiman who restored the mosque which had fallen into ruin in the 17th and 18th Centuries but all traces of the Almohad and Almoravid interiors were lost. Mosques in Marrakech have undergone a continuous process of recreation along with the Medina. The situation only stabilised during the French Protectorate and subsequent post independence restoration efforts.

Today the Ben Youssef Mosque dominates the square with its imposing walls and if you are lucky you may be able to see inside through its large door. In the alleyways of the Medina you can glance through open door ways and sometimes catch a glimpse of the interiors, many are plain white with arches .Sometimes there is raffia matting around the walls and carpets laid on the floor. On Fridays it is worth watching the prayers and sermons of the imam on the 2M TV channel in Morocco’s finest mosques to see some of the interiors.

The Ben Saleh Mosque is in a square at the end of Derb Dabachi. It is remarkable as being the sole example of Merinid architecture in Marrakech .It is currently been refurbished. Behind the mosque is the Medersa Ben Saleh which was built n 1671 by Sultan Moulay Rachid and has been completely restored having been a ruin for many years.

There are hundreds of mosques in Marrakech both ancient and modern and new mosques continue to be built many with the financial support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Travel Exploration specializes inMorocco Travel. We provide Tours and travel opportunities to Morocco for the independent traveler and tailor-made tours for families and groups with a distinctly unique flavor. From Morocco’s Seven Imperial Cities, to the Magical Sahara Travel Exploration offers a captivating experience that will inspire you. At Travel Exploration we guarantee that you will discover the best of Morocco! Call Travel Exploration at 1 (800) 787-8806 or + 1 (212) 618882681 and let’s book a tour to Morocco for you today.

Marrakech’s hippest shopping destination is rue Mouassine in the Marrakech Medina. Bab Laksour and the Marrakech medina’s Mouassine district is an intimate introduction for first time visitors to Marrakech. The Mouassine in the Marrakech medina boasts many trendy, fashionable boutiques, antiques dealers along with arts and crafts shops. The Mouassine has become one of the best places to shop in Marrakech. One of the easiest ways to get to Bab Laksour and the Mouassine is from Avenue Mohammed V just after the Ensemble de Artisans which leads to rue Laksour. This route offers an alternative to entering via the Jemma El Fna and the crowded souks.

Riad El Fenn

The Mouassine District is also home to Vanessa Branson’s stylish Riad el Fenn, located at the Derb Abdallah ben Hssain. Riad El Fenn (fenn means art in arabic) is a former palace with panoramic views of the medina and Atlas mountains from its terrace. Also close by is the classical Moroccan restaurant, Le Tobsil.

The Kounouz jewelry shop is also a well known place to shop and Maison d’ Argan for those who cannot make it to Essaouira. There are many spice and essential oils and natural product stores in the Mouassine. There are also many hanouts, Moroccan owned domestic shops,carpenters and a motorcycle repair shop. Normal domestic life blends seamlessly with the tourist scene in the Mouassine.

Just footsteps from rue Sidi Yamani are antique shops, the Mouassine mosque and fountain. Kulchi, a stylish clothing boutique and Chez Khayati known for quality leather poufs and babouches are two well known boutiques.

Kifkif Marrakech Medina

Kifkif is another intimate and trendy boutique that has jewelry, textiles, leather goods and accessories made by local artisans with a European twist. Kifkif’s owners have a boutique in both the Moussaine District of the Marrakech medina and in Sidi Ghanem, an industrial artistic district 15 minutes outside of the city center of Marrakech.

Rue Laksour, the main street of the Mouassine has a candle shop that sells colored scented candles. There is also a store with traditional Berber musical instruments nearby Stylia Restaurant which is a former palace with a huge ornate door offering the very best in traditional Moroccan cuisine.

The emporium, Artisanal Dar Essalam is also worth visiting. You cannot miss it with its over sized wooden doors decorated with a white stucco portal. The Artisanal sells all kinds of craft items and paintings, a veritable Aladdin’s cave at fixed prices for those who don’t want to haggle with shop keepers over tea.

As you walk on the narrow streets of the Mouassine, a small wood shop displays its wares, bowls, boxes and trays. A covered section has another emporium, the Palais Vizier, which sells carpets. Mosques, local hanouts and riads line the streets of the Moussaine which offers the feel of ordinary life in the medina.

Well known in the Mouassine for socially responsible shoppers is a women’s cooperative called Al Nour that sells hand embroidered sells scarfs, children’s garments and fine linen accessories, all made by handicapped women.

Berber carpets line the wall of the Mouassine. Facing A Nour is an archway topped by a building of Portuguese origin which bridges the street. There is a spice and natural products shop. Passing through the archway you will find the large wooden door of the Kssour Agafay which is a 16th century riad once home to a noble chorfa family. It has been completely restored to its former glory featuring painted intricate stucco decoration and 4 meter high doors and carved wooden ceilings, by Abel Damoussi. As well as being a guest house it is also an exclusive private members club. If you knock on the door you might be lucky enough to be shown round.

Nearby Kssour Agafay are two fine Berber jewelry shops and a ceramic store. Finally a kelim and rug shop with antique wooden doors on display, the Bazaar Chichoua, completes the rue Ksour and leads on to the rue Mouassine.

If books are what you fancy then off route of the rue Mouassine is a French language bookshop filled to the brim of coffee table books on Morocco. To the right is the busy covered street leading to the Place Bab Fteuh and beyond it the entrance to the Souk Semarine. To the left the rue Mouassine leads on up to the Mouassine Mosque and its Fountain.

During a walk through this gateway of the Marrakech souk you will also discover an impressive, colorful array of shops lining the street that offer the best in Moroccan handicrafts including jewelry shops, ceramics, leather goods, lanterns ,carpets, rugs, clothes, lighting design shops and fine linen (Kis boutique and Esprit Coton) spices and natural products such as Argan. Marrakech’s Mouassine District is full of surprises.

Travel Exploration specializes inMorocco Travel. We provide Tours and travel opportunities to Morocco for the independent traveler and tailor-made tours for families and groups with a distinctly unique flavor. From Morocco’s Seven Imperial Cities, to the Magical Sahara Travel Exploration offers a captivating experience that will inspire you. At Travel Exploration we guarantee that you will discover the best of Morocco! Call Travel Exploration at 1 (800) 787-8806 or + 1 (212) 618882681 and let’s book a tour to Morocco for you today.